


Come Back To Me

by ilikeshipment



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben is a Good Brother, M/M, blood mention, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 10:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18871255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilikeshipment/pseuds/ilikeshipment
Summary: He tried channeling his brother’s energy in the hopes of finding any memories of Dave. The two shared a cosmic bond somehow, ever since Ben had died. He thought if he could tap into Klaus’ consciousness, it would help him find Dave quicker.~As Klaus tries to get sober, Ben leaves to find Dave and bring him back to Klaus before the world ends.





	Come Back To Me

Hearing the way Klaus talked about Dave called to something within Ben. He felt he needed to do anything he could to help his brother.

He disappeared into the dimension of the dead, leaving behind the scene of Klaus tied up in the chair. It was empty here right now. Ben sighed. It was fickle trying to find your way around in this realm. Everything seemed to move or shift. And sometimes one found nothing at all.

He tried channeling his brother’s energy in the hopes of finding any memories of Dave. The two shared a cosmic bond somehow, ever since Ben had died. He thought if he could tap into Klaus’ consciousness, it would help him find Dave quicker.

He sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. He folded his hands in his lap and closed his eyes.

After a few moments of concentration, he started to see little flashes of light. He heard voices echoing. The echoes turned to screams.

He didn’t know if this was a childhood memory or something fresher. Their connection was lost when Klaus was in Vietnam. All Ben knew of his time there was what Klaus had told him. And he mostly only told him about Dave.  

Then he heard gunshots and he knew exactly what kind of memory he had unlocked.

Living that fear and terror secondhand was probably nothing close to what it was actually like. But it was good enough for Ben to at least understand.

He hunched over in pain, bringing his hands to his stomach. The feeling of being in battle was not anything new to him, but this was something else entirely.

Then he pulled his hands away from his stomach and saw blood coating his fingers. He saw a glimpse of ice blue eyes growing dim before him. He cried and clutched at his heart. The pain he was feeling was unbearable. He shut his eyes tight in a feeble attempt to shut it all out.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a battlefield. But it had seemed that the battle had ended quite some time ago. He stood up and looked around at the scattered weapons and debris, but not a body in sight.

And then Ben saw a soldier sitting a distance away and he knew immediately that it was Dave. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. Maybe it was the connection with Klaus or a ghostly intuition. His lips turned up into a soft smile.  

Dave was sitting on a log, but stood up when he noticed Ben. He looked bewildered standing there, squinting at his unexpected visitor.

“Um. Hi?” Ben started. He tried a wave, but it felt awkward. Dave cocked his head at him.

“Hello. Do I know you?” He asked.

“Maybe. I know you.”

“Is that so?” Dave said.

“You’re Dave, aren’t you?” Ben asked and he really hoped he was correct.

The other man was visibly shocked, but gave an impressed smile. “Why, yes, I am. And who might you be?”

Ben stood up straighter. He had to admit, he was pretty damn excited to meet this guy. He smiled as he said, “I’m Ben. I’m Klaus’ brother.”

To top it off, he pulled back his left sleeve to show his matching umbrella tattoo. He had no idea how much Klaus had told Dave about his family, but hopefully enough that any of this actually meant something to him.

It apparently did, because Dave’s face lit up at the sight of the tattoo. He remembered Klaus talking about his brother Ben who passed away when they were teenagers. He had told Dave that Ben was secretly his favorite sibling.

“Oh, my gosh, you’re _Ben,”_ Dave said with a smile and laugh. He walked up to Ben and opened his arms, nonverbally asking for a hug. Ben accepted enthusiastically.

“But wh- what are you doing here?” Dave asked when he pulled away.

“Well,” Ben put his hands in his pockets. “I’ve come to ask if you want to see Klaus again.”

Maybe that wasn’t the best way to put it because Dave seemed confused and almost hurt by that.

“Well, _of_ _course_  I do, but I ca… Unless you mean?” He gestured to the open space around them. Was Klaus here now?

“Oh, no, no, no. He’s not—at least not yet,”  Ben corrected quickly. He should’ve rehearsed what he was going to say. He sighed. “I’m not sure how much Klaus told you about our family.”

“A good bit.”

“Well, maybe so, but I have a feeling there were some big things he left out,” Ben stated. Dave cocked his head. Ben took in a deep breath before asking, “Did he ever tell you that he can talk to the dead?”

A surprised laugh forced its way out of Dave. “He what?”

“He can talk to ghosts. Ever since he was a little kid.”

“I don’t…”

“How do you think I know who you are? He doesn’t shut up about you.” That made Dave smile. And it made sense, now that he thought about it. There were plenty of moments were it seemed like Klaus was talking or reacting to something that wasn’t there. He didn’t think anything of it because a lot of guys did weird things while in Vietnam. Maybe something, or someone, was actually there the whole time.

“But if he can talk to ghosts, why didn’t he contact me sooner?”

Ben opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly shut it. “How about I let him explain that one to you?”

Dave smiled. “Okay.” And then the excitement and nerves hit him all at once. He hadn’t seen Klaus in fifty years. He’d been stuck here, alone. Was Klaus old now, on his death bed? Would he remember him? Did he send Ben here to find him or did Ben come here on his own accord?

These and many other questions swirled around in his head as Ben took his hand and lead him away from the battlefield.

Dave had never crossed into the world of the living before. He didn’t even know that was a thing he could do. Ben was there, guiding him through it. The feeling of entering the living world was not very different from the feeling of leaving it.

And then he was on solid hardwood floors in a dusty old room. He looked around in bewilderment.

“He’s through there,” Ben pointed to a doorway. “But, be warned, he’s a little tied up right now.”

“Oh, uh, o-okay,” Dave stuttered. He hadn’t felt this nervous since he first talked to Klaus on the bus all those years ago. He cleared his throat and stepped through the doorway. He found Klaus lying on the floor, literally tied up.

“Klaus?” He called softly. Klaus’ eyes fluttered open and he opened and closed them a few more times. When his eyes snapped open for the last time, he gasped sharply.

“Oh, my _god,”_ He exclaimed. “It worked!” His voice sounded tired but his smile was a mile wide. Dave matched his smile, stepping forward.

Klaus looked just as young as the day he died. This confused Dave, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that right now. He looked beautiful and soft. Dave wanted nothing more than to untie him and pull him into his arms. He felt tears stinging his eyes.

“Hi, there,” he said.

“Hi, Dave,” Klaus said warmly.

But then, in an instant, everything around Dave vanished. He found himself lying on the ground, back on the battlefield. No Klaus. No Ben. Just him alone with the memory of dying in the arms of the man he loves.

**Author's Note:**

> I think this is a pretty fandom-wide theory, but I originally heard this idea from @maltedchocolatemilkshakes on tumblr. 
> 
> My TUA tumblr: @theseance1968
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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